Etihad Cargo on Track for Best Ever Performance In 2014

Etihad Cargo, the freight division of United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier Etihad Airways, achieved an all-time record in November when it carried 53,292 tonnes across its global network in one month.

Etihad Cargo, the
freight division of United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier Etihad Airways, achieved
an all-time record in November when it carried 53,292 tonnes across its global
network in one month.

This is an increase
on its previous monthly record of 51,688 tonnes carried in October, up seven
per cent on the same month last year. Etihad Cargo’s total uplift for 2014 is
forecast to top 570,000 tonnes, a 17 per cent increase on 2013.

This performance,
based on strong market demand, the expansion of its global reach, and the
smooth handling operations at its hub in Abu Dhabi, has already enabled Etihad
Cargo to secure over US$ I billion in revenue to-date.

Etihad Cargo has significantly enhanced its global
reach by offering bellyhold capacity on 10 new passenger destinations launched
across Etihad Airways’ fast growing network during the year. These include
Medina, Jaipur, Los Angeles, Zurich, Yerevan, Rome, Perth, Phuket, Dallas and
San Francisco, bringing to 90 the
total number of passenger destinations on which cargo
services are currently provided.

During the year Etihad
Cargo also expanded its freighter services to several new markets to capitalise
on the strong import and export demands between global financial centres and
the emerging markets. This included the introduction of new weekly services to Dar
es Salaam and Entebbe in East Africa, a three-times-a- week service to Hanoi in
Vietnam, and a twice-weekly service to Moscow in Russia.

This brings the
number of freighter-only destinations currently operated by Etihad Cargo to 15,
with other routes including: Chittagong, Djibouti, Dubai World Central,
Eldoret, Guangzhou, Houston, Kabul, Miami, Quito, Sharjah and Viracopos.

Etihad Cargo also launched
a new twice-a-week freighter service from Milan to Bogotá, Colombia, and from Bogotá to Amsterdam, following
a partnership agreement signed with
Avianca Cargo, the cargo division of leading Latin American carrier Avianca.

A key success factor
has been Etihad Cargo’s ability to further extend its global reach through the
network expansion of its codeshare partners, which enables it to provide additional
bellyhold space on airberlin’s new passenger services from Berlin and Stuttgart
to its hub in Abu Dhabi, and on NIKI’s new service from Vienna.

It also includes Air
Seychelles’ new services from Mahé to/from Mumbai (India), Antananarivo
(Madagascar) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), in addition to existing direct
services from Seychelles to Johannesburg, Mauritius and via Abu Dhabi to Paris
and Hong Kong.

Kevin Knight, Etihad
Airways’ Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, said: “Our business continues to
grow as we work with our global partners to provide customers with a fully integrated
global cargo solution. By working together, we are able to achieve greater capacity
utilisation on our growing fleet of freighter aircraft, provide more bellyhold
capacity across an extended passenger network, and, importantly, further
develop our well-performing charter business.”

Mr Knight said: “We have seen strong
growth in cargo volumes over the last year, and particularly to and from Asia and
Africa as we continue to leverage the strategic location of our hub in Abu
Dhabi to provide a link between the mature markets and emerging economies around
the world.

“Our focus during 2014 has been to open up cargo
services to a greater number of world destinations, increase frequencies on key
cargo routes, and ultimately, continue to offer our customers greater choice
and flexibility when it comes to doing business with us.

“Our
endeavors are paying off and we are continuing to outperform the industry. 2014
promises to be a record year for Etihad Cargo, and I am confident that the
growth we have sustained over the last year will provide the platform for
further growth during 2015.”

Etihad Cargo took delivery
of two new freighter aircraft during the year. This included an A330-200F
aircraft, and the placement of a third Boeing 747-400 freighter from Atlas Air
Worldwide Holdings Inc. The aircraft have a range of 7,400 kms and 8,240 kms
respectively, and a combined payload capacity of nearly 200 tonnes. This brings
to 10, Etihad Cargo’s
freighter fleet which consists of four Airbus A330-200F, three Boeing B777F,
and three Boeing 747F aircraft.